Man Surrenders In '92 Fatal Hit-and-run

Father, Son Killed In Accident On State Road 84 In Davie

Three years ago, Jerrold King was held without bond on a worthless check charge after Davie police named him as a suspect in a hit-and-run that killed a man and his 6-year-old son.

King was released after a week without being charged in the fatal crash. The bad check charge was later dropped.

King's freedom lasted until Friday, when he surrendered at the Broward County Jail, pegged again by prosecutors as the driver of a car that mowed down a family walking along State Road 84 on July 7, 1992.

The key hang-up in filing charges was the lack of what would be the best evidence - the car that killed Mauricio Betancur, 26, and his son.

But after investigating King, 43, for more than two years, the Broward State Attorney's Office charged him with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident with death; leaving the scene of an accident with injury; failing to report or render aid after the crash; and tampering with evidence.

King was released on $4,000 bond.

If prosecutors are correct, King was behind the wheel of a car that slammed into the back of Betancur as his family walked on the side of State Road 84, west of Pine Island Road.

The Betancurs had gone out for milk after midnight, then decided to take a walk. Mauricio Betancur's car had broken down, which was why they were on foot.

Betancur's wife, Margarita, was injured in the crash, and an infant daughter escaped injury.

Margarita Betancur could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Investigators identified the car that hit the Betancurs as a 1986 Volkswagen Jetta, but the vehicle could not be found. The case was turned over to the state attorney.

"We dropped that case off two years ago," Davie Police Capt. John George said on Monday. "Why it took so long I don't know."

Prosecutors had wanted to find the car before proceeding, leading to the long delay in filing charges, said Jeff Marcus, head of the state attorney's felony trial unit. The car was never found. It was not clear on Monday what evidence will be used against King.

Court documents accuse King of failing to stop after the accident, failing to help anyone who was injured, failing to report the crash to the nearest authority and hiding the hit-and-run car.

King lived in Cooper City at the time of the crash but now resides in Naples.

He said he did not know why charges were being filed after so many years.

"We got wind that the police were looking for him," said Kayo Morgan, who represented King during the initial investigation. "I advised him to surrender and he did."